MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2006 Regular Session
To: Juvenile Justice; Ways and Means
By: Representative Flaggs, Brown, Clarke, Buck, Hines
AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI JUVENILE DELINQUENCY PREVENTION ACT OF 2006; TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-201, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THAT PARTIES BE REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL IN CERTAIN PROCEEDINGS; TO REQUIRE THAT YOUTH COURT APPOINTED ATTORNEYS RECEIVE TRAINING IN JUVENILE JUSTICE ISSUES; TO REQUIRE THAT INDIGENT PARITIES BE APPOINTED AN ATTORNEY IN YOUTH COURT PROCEEDINGS; TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-307, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT THE HOLDING OF A STATUS OFFENDER IN DETENTION FOR LONGER THAN 24 HOURS BEFORE SUCH AN OFFENDER HAS HAD HIS OR HER INITIAL COURT APPEARANCE; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 43-21-311, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE RIGHTS OF A CHILD WHEN HE OR SHE IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-321, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE CERTAIN MINIMUM DETENTION STANDARDS FOR JUVENILE DETENTION FACILITIES; TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-605, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT THE PLACEMENT OF CERTAIN YOUTH IN PARAMILITARY PROGRAMS; TO PROVIDE THAT DETENTION CENTERS MUST PROVIDE CERTAIN CERTIFIED EDUCATIONAL SERVICES FOR YOUTH; TO REVISE FROM 90 TO 10 DAYS THE AMOUNT OF TIME A FIRST-TIME NONVIOLENT OFFENDER MAY BE COMMITTED TO A DETENTION CENTER DURING CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; TO AUTHORIZE THE YOUTH COURT TO REQUIRE THE PARENTS OF DELINQUENT YOUTH TO SUBMIT TO DRUG TESTING AS PART OF THE DISPOSITION ORDER OF A YOUTH; TO REQUIRE THAT COLUMBIA TRAINING SCHOOL HOUSE FEMALE AND MALE YOUTHS; TO AUTHORIZE COLUMBIA AND OAKLEY TRAINING SCHOOLS TO OPERATE A BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF AMERICA; TO REQUIRE OAKLEY TRAINING SCHOOL TO HOUSE FEMALE AND MALE DELINQUENT YOUTHS; TO AUTHORIZE THE YOUTH COURT TO IMPOSE A CIVIL FINE FOR THE PARENTS OR CUSTODIANS OF DELINQUENT YOUTH WHO DO NOT FOLLOW IMPROVEMENT PLANS OR DISPOSITION ORDERS OF THE YOUTH COURT; TO AMEND SECTION 43-27-201, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THAT ADOLESCENT OFFENDER PROGRAMS PROVIDE CERTAIN SERVICES; TO PROVIDE THAT COLUMBIA TRAINING SCHOOL SHALL BE A NONSECURED FACILITY; TO PROVIDE THAT COLUMBIA TRAINING SCHOOL SHALL PROVIDE CERTAIN ALTERNATIVE SERVICES; TO AMEND SECTION 43-27-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THAT ANY FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO OAKLEY AND COLUMBIA TRAINING SCHOOLS BE EXPENDED SOLELY FOR SUCH SCHOOLS; TO ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI JUVENILE JUSTICE ALTERNATIVE SANCTIONS GRANT PROGRAM FOR MUNICIPALITIES; TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF $5,000,000.00 IN STATE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FUNDS FOR SUCH GRANT PROGRAMS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE BE CONSIDERED LOAN ELIGIBLE FOR ADDITIONAL TANF FUNDS FOR HURRICANE KATRINA RELATED DAMAGES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 43-21-201, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-201. (1) Each party shall have the right to be represented by counsel at all stages of the proceedings including, but not limited to, detention, adjudicatory and disposition hearings and parole or probation revocation proceedings. If the party is a child, the child shall be represented by counsel at all critical stages. If indigent, the child shall have the right to have counsel appointed for him by the youth court.
(2) When a party first appears before the youth court, the judge shall ascertain whether he is represented by counsel and, if not, inform him of his rights including his right to counsel. If the party is indigent, the youth court judge shall appoint a court appointed attorney to represent the party at all critical stages of the proceedings.
(3) All youth court appointed attorneys shall be required to receive juvenile justice training that is approved by the Mississippi Judicial College and/or The Mississippi Bar Association. The Mississippi Judicial College and The Mississippi Bar Association shall determine the amount of juvenile justice training and continuing education which shall be satisfactory to fulfill the requirements of this subsection. The Administrative Office of Courts shall maintain a roll of youth court appointed attorneys, and shall enforce the provisions of this subsection and shall maintain records on all such youth court appointed attorneys regarding such training. Should a youth court appointed attorney miss two (2) consecutive training sessions sponsored by the Mississippi Judicial College and/or The Mississippi Bar Association as required by this subsection or fail to attend one (1) such training within six (6) months of his or her designation as a youth court appointed attorney, such attorney shall be disqualified to serve and shall be immediately removed from the office of youth court appointed attorney and another youth court appointed attorney shall be designated.
(4) An attorney shall enter his or her appearance on behalf of a party in the proceeding by filing a written notice of appearance with the youth court, by filing a pleading, notice or motion signed by counsel or by appearing in open court and advising the youth court that he or she is representing a party. After counsel has entered his or her appearance, he or she shall be served with copies of all subsequent pleadings, motions and notices required to be served on the party he or she represents. An attorney who has entered his appearance shall not be permitted to withdraw from the case until a timely appeal if any has been decided, except by leave of the court then exercising jurisdiction of the cause after notice of his or her intended withdrawal is served by him or her on the party he or she represents.
SECTION 2. Section 43-21-307, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-307. The judge or his designee may authorize the temporary custody of a child taken into custody for a period of not longer than forty-eight (48) hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and statutory state holidays if the judge or his designee finds there are grounds to issue a custody order as defined in Section 43-21-301 and such custody order complies with the detention requirements provided in Section 43-21-301(6). However, an accused status offender shall not be held in detention for longer than twenty-four (24) hours excluding Saturdays, Sundays and statutory state holidays before such an offender has had his or her initial court appearance.
SECTION 3. Section 43-21-311, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
43-21-311. (1) When a child is taken into custody, he shall immediately be informed of:
(a) The reason for his custody;
(b) The time within which review of the custody shall be held;
(c) His rights during custody including his right to counsel;
(d) All rules and regulations of the place at which he is held;
(e) The time and place of the detention hearing when the time and place is set; and
(f) The conditions of his custody which shall be in compliance with the detention requirements provided in Section 43-21-301(6).
These rights shall be posted where the child may read them.
(2) When a child is taken into custody, the child may immediately telephone his parent, guardian or custodian; his counsel; and personnel of the youth court. Thereafter, he shall be allowed to telephone his counsel or any personnel of the youth court at reasonable intervals. Unless the judge or his designee finds that it is against the best interest of the child, he may telephone his parent, guardian or custodian at reasonable intervals.
(3) When a child is taken into custody, the child may be visited by his counsel and authorized personnel of the youth court at any time. Unless the judge or his designee finds it to be against the best interest of the child, he may be visited by his parent, guardian or custodian during visiting hours which shall be regularly scheduled at least three (3) days per week. The youth court may establish rules permitting visits by other persons.
(4) Except for the child's counsel, guardian ad litem and authorized personnel of the youth court, no person shall interview or interrogate a child held in a detention or shelter facility unless approval therefor has first been obtained from the judge or his designee. When a child in a detention or shelter facility is represented by counsel or has a guardian ad litem, no person may interview or interrogate the child concerning the violation of a state or federal law, or municipal or county ordinance by the child unless in the presence of his counsel or guardian ad litem or with their consent.
SECTION 4. Section 43-21-321, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-321. (1) All juveniles shall undergo a health screening within one (1) hour of admission to any juvenile detention center, or as soon thereafter as reasonably possible. Information obtained during the screening shall include, but shall not be limited to, the juvenile's:
(a) Mental health;
(b) Suicide risk;
(c) Alcohol and other drug use and abuse;
(d) Physical health;
(e) Aggressive behavior;
(f) Family relations;
(g) Peer relations;
(h) Social skills;
(i) Educational status; and
(j) Vocational status.
(2) If the screening instrument indicates that a juvenile is in need of emergency medical care or mental health intervention services, the detention staff shall refer those juveniles to the proper health care facility or community mental health service provider for further evaluation, as soon as reasonably possible. If the screening instrument, such as the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument version 2 (MAYSI-2) or other comparable mental health screening instrument indicates that the juvenile is in need of emergency medical care or mental health intervention services, the detention staff shall refer the juvenile to the proper health care facility or community mental health service provider for further evaluation, recommendation and referral for treatment, if necessary, within forty-eight (48) hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and statutory state holidays.
(3) All juveniles shall receive a thorough orientation to the center's procedures, rules, programs and services. The intake process shall operate twenty-four (24) hours per day.
(4) The directors of all of the juvenile detention centers shall amend or develop written procedures for admission of juveniles who are new to the system. These shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) Determine that the juvenile is legally committed to the facility;
(b) Make a complete search of the juvenile and his possessions;
(c) Dispose of personal property;
(d) Require shower and hair care, if necessary;
(e) Issue clean, laundered clothing, as needed;
(f) Issue personal hygiene articles;
(g) Perform medical, dental and mental health screening;
(h) Assign a housing unit for the juvenile;
(i) Record basic personal data and information to be used for mail and visiting lists;
(j) Assist juveniles in notifying their families of their admission and procedures for mail and visiting;
(k) Assign a registered number to the juvenile; and
(l) Provide written orientation materials to the juvenile.
(5) All juvenile detention centers shall adhere to the following minimum standards:
(a) Juvenile detention centers shall have a manual that states the policies and procedures for operating and maintaining the facility, and such manual shall be reviewed annually and revised as needed;
(b) Juvenile detention centers shall have a policy that specifies support for a drug-free workplace for all employees, and such policy shall, at a minimum, include the following:
1. The prohibition of the use of illegal drugs;
2. The prohibition of the possession of any illegal drugs except in the performance of official duties;
3. The procedure used to ensure compliance with a drug-free workplace policy;
4. The opportunities available for the treatment and/or counseling for drug abuse; and
5. The penalties for violation of the drug-free workplace policy.
(c) Juvenile detention centers shall have a policy, procedure and practice that ensures that personnel files and records are current, accurate and confidential;
(d) Juvenile detention centers shall ensure the safety and protection of juvenile detainees from personal abuse, corporal punishment, personal injury, disease, property damage and harassment; and
(e) Juvenile detention centers shall have written policies that allow for mail and telephone rights for juvenile detainees, and such policies are to be made available for all staff and is to be reviewed annually.
* * *
(6) Programs and services shall be initiated for all juveniles once they have completed the admissions process.
(7) Programs and professional services may be provided by the detention staff, youth court staff or the staff of the local or state agencies, or those programs and professional services may be provided through contractual arrangements with community agencies.
(8) Persons providing the services required in this section must be qualified or trained in their respective fields.
(9) All directors of juvenile detention centers shall amend or develop written procedures to fit the programs and services described in this section.
SECTION 5. (1) There is established the Juvenile Justice Programs Monitoring Unit within the Department of Public Safety to work in cooperation with the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board that is established in this section. The unit shall inspect all juvenile detention facilities including, but not limited to, the state training schools on a quarterly basis. The inspections shall encompass the following:
(a) Ensuring and certifying that the juvenile detention facilities are in compliance with the minimum standards of operation, as established in Section 43-21-321; and
(b) Providing technical assistance and advice to juvenile detention facilities, which will assist the facilities in complying with the minimum standards.
(2) Additional duties of the monitoring unit are as follows:
(a) To conduct an assessment of all juvenile detention facilities and to determine how far each is from coming into compliance with the minimum standards, as established in Section 43-21-301(6) and Section 43-21-321; and
(b) To develop a strategic plan and a timeline for each juvenile detention facility to come into compliance with the minimum standards as described in this subsection.
(3) There is established the Juvenile Justice Programs Advisory Board, the duties of which shall be to provide oversight of the Mississippi juvenile justice system. The advisory board shall ensure that Mississippi’s juvenile justice system employs services for children that are both cost efficient and proven to reduce juvenile delinquency.
(4) The Juvenile Justice Programs Advisory Board shall consist of the following twenty-five (25) members:
(a) The Chairman of the House of Representatives Juvenile Justice Committee and the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary B Committee;
(b) Two (2) members of the House of Representatives to be named by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
(c) Two (2) members of the Senate to be named by the Lieutenant Governor;
(d) The Governor or his designee;
(e) The Attorney General or his designee;
(f) The Executive Director of the Department of Human Services or his designee;
(g) The Executive Director of the Division of Medicaid or his designee;
(h) The Executive Director of the Department of Mental Health or his designee;
(i) The Executive Director of the Department of Public Safety or his designee;
(j) The State Superintendent of Public Education or his designee;
(k) One (1) youth court judge who is a representative of the Mississippi Council of Youth Court Judges;
(l) One (1) youth court counselor appointed by the Mississippi Council of Youth Court Judges;
(m) One (1) attorney experienced in prosecuting youth in youth court matters;
(n) One (1) attorney experienced in defending youth in youth court matters;
(o) Two (2) representatives from child advocacy organizations appointed by the Chairman of the House of Representatives Juvenile Justice Committee and the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary B Committee;
(p) Two (2) parents of youth involved (or formerly involved) in Mississippi's juvenile justice system;
(q) Two (2) youth involved (or formerly involved) in Mississippi’s juvenile justice system;
(r) A community health expert who has studied children's mental health issues as they relate to detention, to be appointed by the cochairs of the advisory board; and
(s) An expert from the Center for Child and Family Studies at the University of Southern Mississippi, to be appointed by the cochairs of the advisory board.
(5) At its first meeting, the advisory board shall adopt rules for transacting its business and keeping records. The chairmanship of the advisory board shall alternate for twelve-month periods between the Senate members and the House members, on May 1 of each year, with the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary B Committee serving as chairman beginning in even-numbered years, and the Chairman of the House Juvenile Justice Committee serving as chairman beginning in odd-numbered years. The advisory board shall meet once each quarter, or upon the call of the chairman at such times as he deems necessary or advisable. If sufficient funds are available to the advisory board for that purpose, members of the advisory board may receive a per diem in the amount provided in Section 25-3-69 for each day engaged in the business of the advisory board, and members of the advisory board other than the legislative members may receive reimbursement for travel expenses incurred while engaged in official business of the advisory board in accordance with Section 25-3-41.
(6) The advisory board shall be assigned to the Department of Public Safety for administrative purposes only, and the Department of Public Safety shall designate staff to assist the advisory board. The advisory board may solicit grants, donations and other funds, and may accept and expend any funds that are made available to the advisory board to carry out its purpose. However, no state general funds may be used to pay any expenses of the advisory board. The advisory board shall issue a report to the Legislature, and the Governor before December 1 of each year. The report shall issue an evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of Mississippi's juvenile justice interventions and make policy and legislative recommendations.
(7) All agencies, departments, offices and institutions of the state, including the state universities and the community and junior colleges, shall cooperate with the advisory board with such assistance as requested by the task advisory board.
SECTION 6. Section 43-21-605, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-605. (1) In delinquency cases, the disposition order may include any of the following alternatives:
(a) Release the child without further action;
(b) Place the child in the custody of the parents, a relative or other persons subject to any conditions and limitations, including restitution, as the youth court may prescribe;
(c) Place the child on probation subject to any reasonable and appropriate conditions and limitations, including restitution, as the youth court may prescribe;
(d) Order terms of treatment calculated to assist the child and the child's parents or guardian which are within the ability of the parent or guardian to perform;
(e) Order terms of supervision which may include participation in a constructive program of service or education or civil fines not in excess of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or restitution not in excess of actual damages caused by the child to be paid out of his own assets or by performance of services acceptable to the victims and approved by the youth court and reasonably capable of performance within one (1) year;
(f) Suspend the child's driver's license by taking and keeping it in custody of the court for not more than one (1) year;
(g) Give legal custody of the child to any of the following:
(i) The Department of Human Services for appropriate placement; or
(ii) Any public or private organization, preferably community-based, able to assume the education, care and maintenance of the child, which has been found suitable by the court; or
(iii) The Department of Human Services for placement in a wilderness training program or the Division of Youth Services for placement in a state-supported training school, except that no child under the age of ten (10) years shall be committed to a state training school, and no first-time nonviolent youth offenders shall be committed to a state training school until all other options provided for in this section have been considered and the court makes a specific finding of fact that commitment is appropriate.
The state shall cease the placement of youths in the paramilitary programs when, by reason of mental or physical disability or maturity level, a youth cannot be expected to obtain any significant benefit or the placement will likely result in physical or psychological harm to the youth. This includes, but is not limited to, youths who are seriously mentally ill or who have mental retardation and youths who are younger than thirteen (13) years of age.
The state shall ensure that staffs create transition planning for youth leaving the facilities. Such plans shall include providing the youth and his or her parents or guardian with information regarding the youth’s home community; making referrals to such services when appropriate; and providing assistance in making initial appointments with community service providers.
The training school may retain custody of the child until the child's twentieth birthday but for no longer. When the child is committed to a training school, the child shall remain in the legal custody of the training school until the child has made sufficient progress in treatment and rehabilitation and it is in the best interest of the child to release the child. However, the superintendent of a state training school, in consultation with the treatment team, may parole a child at any time he may deem it in the best interest and welfare of such child. Twenty (20) days prior to such parole, the training school shall notify the committing court of the pending release. The youth court may then arrange subsequent placement after a reconvened disposition hearing, except that the youth court may not recommit the child to the training school or any other secure facility without an adjudication of a new offense or probation or parole violation. Prior to assigning the custody of any child to any private institution or agency, the youth court through its designee shall first inspect the physical facilities to determine that they provide a reasonable standard of health and safety for the child. No child shall be placed in the custody of a state training school for a status offense or for contempt of or revocation of a status offense adjudication unless the child is contemporaneously adjudicated for having committed an act of delinquency that is not a status offense. A disposition order rendered under this subparagraph shall meet the following requirements:
1. The disposition is the least restrictive alternative appropriate to the best interest of the child and the community;
2. The disposition allows the child to be in reasonable proximity to the family home community of each child given the dispositional alternatives available and the best interest of the child and the state; and
3. The disposition order provides that the court has considered the medical, educational, vocational, social and psychological guidance, training, social education, counseling, substance abuse treatment and other rehabilitative services required by that child as determined by the court;
(h) Recommend to the child and the child's parents or guardian that the child attend and participate in the Youth Challenge Program under the Mississippi National Guard, as created in Section 43-27-203, subject to the selection of the child for the program by the National Guard; however, the child must volunteer to participate in the program. The youth court shall not order any child to apply or attend the program;
(i) (i) Adjudicate the juvenile to the Statewide Juvenile Work Program if the program is established in the court's jurisdiction. The juvenile and his parents or guardians must sign a waiver of liability in order to participate in the work program. The judge will coordinate with the youth services counselors as to placing participants in the work program;
(ii) The severity of the crime, whether or not the juvenile is a repeat offender or is a felony offender will be taken into consideration by the judge when adjudicating a juvenile to the work program. The juveniles adjudicated to the work program will be supervised by police officers or reserve officers. The term of service will be from twenty-four (24) to one hundred twenty (120) hours of community service. A juvenile will work the hours to which he was adjudicated on the weekends during school and weekdays during the summer. Parents are responsible for a juvenile reporting for work. Noncompliance with an order to perform community service will result in a heavier adjudication. A juvenile may be adjudicated to the community service program only two (2) times;
(iii) The judge shall assess an additional fine on the juvenile which will be used to pay the costs of implementation of the program and to pay for supervision by police officers and reserve officers. The amount of the fine will be based on the number of hours to which the juvenile has been adjudicated;
(j) Order the child to participate in a youth court work program as provided in Section 43-21-627; * * *
(k) Order the child into a juvenile detention center operated by the county or into a juvenile detention center operated by any county with which the county in which the court is located has entered into a contract for the purpose of housing delinquents. By July 1, 2007, no child shall be ordered into a detention center for a disposition, if that center does not provide, at a minimum, certified educational services, including special education services and adequate on-site medical and mental health services. The time period for such detention cannot exceed ninety (90) days, and any detention exceeding forty-five (45) days shall be administratively reviewed by the youth court no later than forty-five (45) days after the entry of the order. The youth court judge may order that the number of days specified in the detention order be served either throughout the week or on weekends only. No first-time nonviolent youth offender shall be committed to a detention center for a period of more than ten (10) days until all other options provided for in this section have been considered and the court makes a specific finding of fact that commitment to a detention center is appropriate. However, if a child is committed to a detention center * * * , the disposition order shall meet the following requirements:
(i) The disposition order is the least restrictive alternative appropriate to the best interest of the child and the community;
(ii) The disposition order allows the child to be in reasonable proximity to the family home community of each child given the dispositional alternatives available and the best interest of the child and the state; and
(iii) The disposition order provides that the court has considered the medical, educational, vocational, social and psychological guidance, training, social education, counseling, substance abuse treatment and other rehabilitative services required by that child as determined by the court; or
(l) Referral to A-team provided system of care services.
(2) In addition to any of the disposition alternatives authorized under subsection (1) of this section, the disposition order in any case in which the child is adjudicated delinquent for an offense under Section 63-11-30 shall include an order denying the driver's license and driving privileges of the child as required under Section 63-11-30(9).
(3) If the youth court places a child in a state-supported training school, the court may order the parents or guardians of the child and other persons living in the child's household to receive counseling and parenting classes for rehabilitative purposes while the child is in the legal custody of the training school. A youth court entering an order under this subsection (3) shall utilize appropriate services offered either at no cost or for a fee calculated on a sliding scale according to income unless the person ordered to participate elects to receive other counseling and classes acceptable to the court at the person's sole expense.
(4) Fines levied under this chapter shall be paid into the general fund of the county but, in those counties wherein the youth court is a branch of the municipal government, it shall be paid into the municipal treasury.
(5) Any institution or agency to which a child has been committed shall give to the youth court any information concerning the child as the youth court may at any time require.
(6) The youth court shall not place a child in another school district who has been expelled from a school district for the commission of a violent act. For the purpose of this subsection, "violent act" means any action which results in death or physical harm to another or an attempt to cause death or physical harm to another.
(7) The youth court may require drug testing as part of a disposition order for the offending child or the parent or custodian of such child. If a child tests positive, the court may require treatment, counseling and random testing, as it deems appropriate. The costs of such tests shall be paid by the parent, guardian or custodian of the child unless the court specifically finds that the parent, guardian or custodian is unable to pay.
(8) (a) The Mississippi Department of Human Services, Division of Youth Services, shall operate and maintain services for youth adjudicated delinquent at * * * Oakley Training School. The program shall be designed for children who have been committed to the training school by the youth courts. Beginning July 1, 2007, Oakley Training School shall house female and male youths who have been adjudicated delinquent. By July 1, 2007, the Columbia Training School shall no longer operate as a secure training school and shall house female and male youths, and the campus of Columbia Training School shall be utilized as prescribed in Section 43-27-201.
(b) The purpose of the programs at Columbia and Oakley Training Schools is to promote good citizenship, self-reliance, leadership and respect for constituted authority, teamwork, cognitive abilities and appreciation of our national heritage. The training schools are authorized to operate a Boys and Girls Club of America as part of the programs of the training schools. The Division of Youth Services shall issue credit towards academic promotions and high school completion. The Division of Youth Services may award credits to each student who meets the requirements for a general education development certification. The Division of Youth Services must also provide to each special education eligible youth the services required by that youth's individualized education plan.
(9) The youth court, as part of any disposition order, may impose a civil fine that is not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) to the parent or custodian of a delinquent youth when such parent or custodian fails to follow any disposition order or improvement plan that is ordered by the youth court.
SECTION 7. Section 43-27-201, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-27-201. (1) The purpose of this section is to outline and structure a long-range proposal in addition to certain immediate objectives for improvements in the juvenile correctional facilities of the Division of Youth Services of the Mississippi Department of Human Services in order to provide modern and efficient correctional and rehabilitation facilities for juvenile offenders in Mississippi, who are committing an increasing percentage of serious and violent crimes.
(2) The Department of Finance and Administration, acting through the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management, using funds from bonds issued under this chapter, monies appropriated by the Legislature for such purposes, federal matching or other federal funds, federal grants or other available funds from whatever source, shall provide for, by construction, lease, lease-purchase or otherwise, and equip the following juvenile correctional facilities under the jurisdiction and responsibility of the Division of Youth Services of the Department of Human Services:
(a) Construct an additional one-hundred-fifty-bed, stand-alone, medium security juvenile correctional facility for habitual violent male offenders, which complies with American Correctional Association Accreditation standards and applicable building and fire safety codes. The medium security, male juvenile facility location shall be on property owned by the Division of Youth Services, or its successor, or at a site selected by the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management on land which is hereafter donated to the state specifically for the location of such facility.
(b) Construct an additional one-hundred-bed minimum security juvenile correctional facility for female offenders, and an additional stand-alone, fifteen-bed maximum security juvenile correctional facility for female offenders, which complies with American Correctional Association Accreditation standards and applicable building and fire safety codes. The minimum security and maximum security female juvenile facilities location shall be on property owned by the Division of Youth Services, or its successor, or at a site selected by the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management on land which is hereafter donated to the state specifically for the location of such facility.
(3) Upon the selection of a proposed site for a correctional facility for juveniles authorized under subsection (2), the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management of the Department of Finance and Administration shall notify the board of supervisors of the county in which such facility is proposed to be located and shall publish a notice as hereinafter set forth in a newspaper having general circulation in such county. Such notice shall include a description of the tract of land in the county whereon the facility is proposed to be located, the nature and size of the facility and the date on which the determination of the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management shall be final as to the location of such facility, which date shall not be less than forty-five (45) days following the first publication of such notice. Such notice shall include a brief summary of the provisions of this section pertaining to the petition for an election on the question of the location of the juvenile housing facility in such county. Such notice shall be published not less than one (1) time each week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in such county.
If no petition requesting an election is filed before the date of final determination stated in such notice, then the bureau shall give final approval to the location of such facility.
If at any time before the aforesaid date a petition signed by twenty percent (20%), or fifteen hundred (1,500), whichever is less, of the qualified electors of the county involved shall be filed with the board of supervisors requesting that an election be called on the question of locating such facility, then the board of supervisors shall adopt a resolution calling an election to be held within such county upon the question of the location of such facility. Such election shall be held, as far as practicable, in the same manner as other elections are held in counties. At such election, all qualified electors of the county may vote, and the ballots used at such election shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the facility to be constructed and the words "For the construction of the facility in (here insert county name) County" and "Against the construction of the facility in (here insert county name) County." The voter shall vote by placing a cross (X) or check mark (√) opposite his choice on the proposition. When the results of the election on the question of the construction of the facility shall have been canvassed by the election commissioners of the county and certified by them to the board of supervisors, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to determine and adjudicate whether or not a majority of the qualified electors who voted thereon in such election voted in favor of the construction of the facilities in such county. Unless a majority of the qualified electors who voted in such election shall have voted in favor of the construction of the facilities in such county, then such facility shall not be constructed in such county.
(4) The Division of Youth Services shall establish, maintain and operate an Adolescent Offender Program (AOP), which may include non-Medicaid assistance eligible juveniles. Beginning July 1, 2006, subject to availability of funds appropriated therefor by the Legislature, the Division of Youth Services shall phase in AOPs in every county of the state over a period of four (4) years. The phase-in of the AOPs shall be as follows:
(a) As of July 1, 2007, not less than twenty (20) counties shall be served by at least one (1) AOP;
(b) As of July 1, 2008, not less than forty (40) counties shall be served by at least one (1) AOP;
(c) As of July 1, 2009, not less than sixty (60) counties shall be served by at least one (1) AOP; and
(d) As of July 1, 2010, all eighty-two (82) counties shall be served by at least one (1) AOP.
AOP professional services, salaries, facility offices, meeting rooms and related supplies and equipment may be provided through contract with local mental health or other nonprofit community organizations. Each AOP must incorporate evidence-based practices and positive behavioral intervention that includes two (2) or more of the following elements: academic, tutoring/literacy, mentoring, vocational training, substance abuse treatment, family counseling and anger management. Programs may include, but shall not be limited to, after school and weekend programming, job readiness programs, home detention programs, community service conflict resolution programs, restitution and community service.
The Department of Human Services shall maximize federal funding including, but not limited to, TANF funding for AOPs.
(5) By July 1, 2007, the Columbia Training School shall no longer operate as a secure training school and shall house female and male youths. In addition, the Department of Human Services shall develop alternative uses for the Columbia Training School campus that may include, but are not limited to, day programming for at-risk youth, mental health services that must be provided by the Department of Mental Health for female and male adolescents, adolescent substance abuse treatment and transitional care for youth who have aged out of foster care but are not yet self-sufficient. The Department of Human Services shall ensure that the use of the Columbia Training School maximizes federal dollars including, but not limited to, Medicaid funds.
(6) The Division of Youth Services shall establish a ten-bed transitional living facility for the temporary holding of training school adolescents who have reached their majority, have completed the GED requirement, and are willing to be rehabilitated until they are placed in jobs, job training or postsecondary programs. Such transitional living facility may be operated pursuant to contract with a nonprofit community support organization.
SECTION 8. Section 43-27-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-27-11. The Mississippi Department of Human Services shall succeed to the exclusive control of all records, books, papers, equipment and supplies, and all lands, buildings and other real and personal property now or hereafter belonging to or assigned to the use and benefit or under the control of the Columbia Training School and the Oakley Training School, and shall have the exercise and control of the use, distribution and disbursement of all funds, appropriations and taxes now or hereafter in possession, levied, collected or received or appropriated for the use, benefit, support and maintenance of these two (2) institutions, and the department shall have general supervision of all the affairs of the two (2) institutions herein named, and the care and conduct of all buildings and grounds, business methods and arrangements of accounts and records, the organization of the administrative plans of each institution, and all other matters incident to the proper functioning of the institutions. Any funds appropriated to the Youth Services Division of the Department of Human Services for Columbia and Oakley Training Schools shall solely and strictly be expended for services provided by the training schools or community-based programs for delinquent youths.
The department shall have full authority over the operation of any and all farms at each of said institutions and over the distribution of agricultural, dairy, livestock and any and all other products therefrom and over all funds received from the sale of hogs and livestock. All sums realized from the sale of products manufactured and fabricated in the shops of the vocational departments of such institutions shall be placed in the revolving fund of the respective institutions in which said products were manufactured, fabricated and sold.
The department shall be authorized to lease the lands for oil, gas and mineral exploration, and for such other purposes as the department deems to be appropriate, on such terms and conditions as the department and lessee agree. The department may contract with the State Forestry Commission for the proper management of forest lands and the sale of timber, and the department is expressly authorized to sell timber and forestry products. The department is further authorized to expend the net proceeds from incomes from all leases and timber sales exclusively for the instructional purposes or operational expenses, or both, at the two (2) institutions under its jurisdiction.
The granting of any leases for oil, gas and mineral exploration shall be on a public bid basis as prescribed by law.SECTION 9. (1) (a) There is established the Mississippi Juvenile Justice Alternative Sanctions Grant Program for the purpose of providing grants to municipalities to assist such municipalities in operating community-based alternatives to incarceration. The grant program established in this section shall be administered by the Division of Youth Services of the Department of Human Services in cooperation with the Department of Public Safety. In order to be eligible for a grant under this section, a municipality must have a juvenile justice alternative sanction designed for delinquent youths. Such a program must be designed to decrease a municipality's reliance on commitment in juvenile detention facilities and training schools. Programs must incorporate evidence-based practices and positive behavioral intervention including two (2) or more of the following elements: academic tutoring/literacy, mentoring, vocational training, substance abuse treatment, family counseling and anger management. Programs may include, but shall not be limited to, after school and weekend programming, job readiness programs, home detention programs, restitution, community service conflict resolution programs, and community service.
(b) A municipality desiring assistance under this section must submit an application to the Division of Youth Services of the Department of Human Services and the Department of Public Safety. The application must include a description of the purpose for which assistance is requested, the amount of assistance requested, a description of the municipality's juvenile offender alternative program and any other information required by the Department of Human Services. Any municipality that receives a grant under this section shall be required to match ten percent (10%) of the amount of the grant with cash which shall be used together with the grant for the purposes for which the grant was made.
(c) The Division of Youth Services of the Department of Human Services and the Department of Public Safety shall have all powers necessary to implement and administer the program established under this section, and the Division of Youth Services and the Department of Public Safety shall promulgate rules and regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, necessary for the implementation of this section.
(2) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated as the "Mississippi Juvenile Justice Alternative Sanctions Grant Fund," which shall consist of funds appropriated or otherwise made available by the Legislature in any manner and funds from any other source designated for deposit into such fund. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any investment earnings or interest earned on amounts in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund. Monies in the fund shall be used by the Department of Human Services for the purposes described in this section.
SECTION 10. As used in Sections 10 through 25 of this act, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Accreted value" of any bonds means, as of any date of computation, an amount equal to the sum of (i) the stated initial value of such bond, plus (ii) the interest accrued thereon from the issue date to the date of computation at the rate, compounded semiannually, that is necessary to produce the approximate yield to maturity shown for bonds of the same maturity.
(b) "State" means the State of Mississippi.
(c) "Commission" means the State Bond Commission.
(d) "Department" means the Department of Human Services.
SECTION 11. (1) The department, at one time or from time to time, may declare by resolution the necessity for issuance of general obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi to provide funds for the program authorized in Section 9 of this act. Upon the adoption of a resolution by the department, declaring the necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the general obligation bonds authorized by this section, the department shall deliver a certified copy of its resolution or resolutions to the commission. Upon receipt of such resolution, the commission, in its discretion, may act as the issuing agent, prescribe the form of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids, issue and sell the bonds so authorized to be sold and do any and all other things necessary and advisable in connection with the issuance and sale of such bonds. The total amount of bonds issued under Sections 10 through 25 of this act shall not exceed Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00).
(2) The proceeds of bonds issued pursuant to Sections 10 through 25 of this act shall be deposited into the Mississippi Juvenile Offender Alternative Program Grant Fund created pursuant to Section 9 of this act. Any investment earnings on bonds issued pursuant to Sections 10 through 25 of this act shall be used to pay debt service on bonds issued under Sections 10 through 25 of this act, in accordance with the proceedings authorizing issuance of such bonds.
SECTION 12. The principal of and interest on the bonds authorized under Sections 10 through 25 of this act shall be payable in the manner provided in this section. Such bonds shall bear such date or dates, be in such denomination or denominations, bear interest at such rate or rates (not to exceed the limits set forth in Section 75-17-101, Mississippi Code of 1972), be payable at such place or places within or without the State of Mississippi, shall mature absolutely at such time or times not to exceed twenty-five (25) years from date of issue, be redeemable before maturity at such time or times and upon such terms, with or without premium, shall bear such registration privileges, and shall be substantially in such form, all as shall be determined by resolution of the commission.
SECTION 13. The bonds authorized by Sections 10 through 25 of this act shall be signed by the chairman of the commission, or by his facsimile signature, and the official seal of the commission shall be affixed thereto, attested by the secretary of the commission. The interest coupons, if any, to be attached to such bonds may be executed by the facsimile signatures of such officers. Whenever any such bonds shall have been signed by the officials designated to sign the bonds who were in office at the time of such signing but who may have ceased to be such officers before the sale and delivery of such bonds, or who may not have been in office on the date such bonds may bear, the signatures of such officers upon such bonds and coupons shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes and have the same effect as if the person so officially signing such bonds had remained in office until their delivery to the purchaser, or had been in office on the date such bonds may bear. However, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, such bonds may be issued as provided in the Registered Bond Act of the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 14. All bonds and interest coupons issued under the provisions of Sections 10 through 25 of this act have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments under the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code, and in exercising the powers granted by Sections 10 through 25 of this act, the commission shall not be required to and need not comply with the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code.
SECTION 15. The commission shall act as the issuing agent for the bonds authorized under Sections 10 through 25 of this act, prescribe the form of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids, issue and sell the bonds so authorized to be sold, pay all fees and costs incurred in such issuance and sale, and do any and all other things necessary and advisable in connection with the issuance and sale of such bonds. The commission is authorized and empowered to pay the costs that are incident to the sale, issuance and delivery of the bonds authorized under Sections 10 through 25 of this act from the proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds. The commission shall sell such bonds on sealed bids at public sale, and for such price as it may determine to be for the best interest of the State of Mississippi, but no such sale shall be made at a price less than par plus accrued interest to the date of delivery of the bonds to the purchaser. All interest accruing on such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually or annually; however, the first interest payment may be for any period of not more than one (1) year.
Notice of the sale of any such bonds shall be published at least one time, not less than ten (10) days before the date of sale, and shall be so published in one or more newspapers published or having a general circulation in the City of Jackson, Mississippi, and in one or more other newspapers or financial journals with a national circulation, to be selected by the commission.
The commission, when issuing any bonds under the authority of Sections 10 through 25 of this act, may provide that bonds, at the option of the State of Mississippi, may be called in for payment and redemption at the call price named therein and accrued interest on such date or dates named therein.
SECTION 16. The bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 10 through 25 of this act are general obligations of the State of Mississippi, and for the payment thereof the full faith and credit of the State of Mississippi is irrevocably pledged. If the funds appropriated by the Legislature are insufficient to pay the principal of and the interest on such bonds as they become due, then the deficiency shall be paid by the State Treasurer from any funds in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated. All such bonds shall contain recitals on their faces substantially covering the provisions of this section.
SECTION 17. Upon the issuance and sale of bonds under the provisions of Sections 10 through 25 of this act, the commission shall transfer the proceeds of any such sale or sales to the Mississippi Juvenile Offender Alternative Program Grant Fund created in Section 9 of this act. The proceeds of such bonds shall be disbursed solely upon the order of the department under such restrictions, if any, as may be contained in the resolution providing for the issuance of the bonds.
SECTION 18. The bonds authorized under Sections 10 through 25 of this act may be issued without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things other than those proceedings, conditions and things which are specified or required by Sections 10 through 25 of this act. Any resolution providing for the issuance of bonds under the provisions of Sections 10 through 25 of this act shall become effective immediately upon its adoption by the commission, and any such resolution may be adopted at any regular or special meeting of the commission by a majority of its members.
SECTION 19. The bonds authorized under the authority of Sections 10 through 25 of this act may be validated in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, in the manner and with the force and effect provided by Chapter 13, Title 31, Mississippi Code of 1972, for the validation of county, municipal, school district and other bonds. The notice to taxpayers required by such statutes shall be published in a newspaper published or having a general circulation in the City of Jackson, Mississippi.
SECTION 20. Any holder of bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 10 through 25 of this act or of any of the interest coupons pertaining thereto may, either at law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus or other proceeding, protect and enforce any and all rights granted under Sections 10 through 25 of this act, or under such resolution, and may enforce and compel performance of all duties required by Sections 10 through 25 of this act to be performed, in order to provide for the payment of bonds and interest thereon.
SECTION 21. All bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 10 through 25 of this act shall be legal investments for trustees and other fiduciaries, and for savings banks, trust companies and insurance companies organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi, and such bonds shall be legal securities which may be deposited with and shall be received by all public officers and bodies of this state and all municipalities and political subdivisions for the purpose of securing the deposit of public funds.
SECTION 22. Bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 10 through 25 of this act and income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation in the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 23. The proceeds of the bonds issued under Sections 10 through 25 of this act shall be used solely for the purposes therein provided, including the costs incident to the issuance and sale of such bonds.
SECTION 24. The State Treasurer is authorized, without further process of law, to certify to the Department of Finance and Administration the necessity for warrants, and the Department of Finance and Administration is authorized and directed to issue such warrants, in such amounts as may be necessary to pay when due the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on, or the accreted value of, all bonds issued under Sections 9 through 24 of this act; and the State Treasurer shall forward the necessary amount to the designated place or places of payment of such bonds in ample time to discharge such bonds, or the interest thereon, on the due dates thereof.
SECTION 25. Sections 10 through 25 of this act shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the exercise of the powers therein granted, but Sections 10 through 25 of this act shall not be deemed to repeal or to be in derogation of any existing law of this state.
SECTION 26. (1) This state shall be considered loan-eligible for purposes of Section 406 of the Social Security Act for additional TANF funds for hurricane related damages as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Except as provided in Section 406 (d) of the Social Security Act, the cumulative dollar amount of all loans made to this state under Section 406 of the Social Security Act by reason of this subsection shall not exceed twenty percent (20%) of the state family assistance grant that is payable to this state under Section 403 of the Social Security Act for fiscal year 2006.
(2) Except as provided by Section 406 of the Social Security Act, a penalty may not be imposed against this state for failure to do the following:
(a) Repay a loan made to this state under the federal government's TANF Emergency Response and Recovery Act of 2005, on or after the date of the enactment of such act and before October 1, 2007; or
(b) Make any interest payment on such a loan.
SECTION 27. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2006.